If you read a lot of (international) books it can’t have escaped your notice that a lot of books are set in America. I suppose it is easier for American authors to have their books be set in their own country for research. However it is not just the American authors that set their books in America. Recently Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt was translated to English. It was originally set in the Netherlands but for the translation it was set in America which I find highly annoying. Who says that readers outside of the Netherlands wouldn’t find it interesting to read a book set in the Netherlands? Readers like to learn things through books.
In any case I did strugle to come up with a good list as I mostly read fantasy. A lot is high fantasy and is not set in our world but I felt that didn’t count. And others are often set in America unfortunately. But I gave it a go anyway.
This prompt was given to us by The Broke and the Bookish for their Top Ten Tuesday weekly meme.
The Netherlands
- On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (Amsterdam)
- Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (original Dutch version in any case)
United Kingdom
- Bartimaeus trilogy and Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud
- The Mysteries by Lisa Tuttle
- The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Others
- The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan (multiple countries)
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Germany)
- XXXHolic by Clamp (Japan)
- The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (multiple countries)
- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind (France)
I have The Book Thief on my list too.I don’t think I have read anything set in Netherlands. I will definitely try get one of those titles. Happy reading š
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Book Thief is great. There aren’t that many books in English that are set in the Netherlands which is a bit sad. š¦
LikeLike
I love the Bartimaeus series! Is Lockwood & Co. good?
That’s a strange thing to change in a translation. Seems like they’d have to change all location references and culture-specific things.
My TTT: http://haphazardbookshelves.blogspot.com/2016/07/ten-books-set-outside-us.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like it but it is a bit more focused towards a slightly younger target group and not as dark as Bartimaeus.
It is. I had some people who had read arcs of the english edition say that after reading they wondered if it may have taken place elsewhere orginally, because they didn’t get the America feeling.
LikeLike
I like reading about other countries, I get enough books set in America lol. And I would be mad too if a book set in the Netherlands was changed in translation! Good grief. I need to read the Riordan books at some point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes you must.
And it is very annoying.
LikeLike
I would hate that the book was changed from the Netherlands to the US, too. I love reading books set in other countries. In fact, now that I am thinking about it… I might even prefer stories set in other countries. š
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is so interesting to see how other countries are in little tid bits throughout the book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great list! It’s so weird that they would just change the entire setting of the book for a translation. Like you said, I’m sure people would appreciate reading a story set in the Netherlands just as much. I didn’t know Hex yet, but I’ll definitely check it out (I can read it in Dutch so I can at least keep the original setting) š
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha that is good. š
LikeLike
I recently bought Hex and am looking forward to reading it – I’m thinking around Halloween time. Wonderful list and you have quite a variety here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you enjoy it. I’m getting the English edition to see how it compares to the Dutch one. š
LikeLike
Wow. I can’t believe they changed the setting of Hex š¦ the story sounds great but I want to read it set in the Netherlands, not in America!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it would have been really interesting.
LikeLike
Why would they change the setting of a book just for translation? That doesn’t really make any sense to me at all. Weird. Anyway, good pick. I’ve read several on your list (The Infernal Devices and the Lunar Chronicles to name a few). Have a great week!
TTT
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it might have to do with a tv show being made of the book in America (that I hear very little about). Even so that doesn’t mean that the books setting would need to change. They could just do that for the tv show (not preferable either but better than the book) and people could still read the original source material. He also changed the ending in the English edition so I really need to read it to see how it compares.
Have a great week as well.
LikeLike
what a great selection of books! I MUST read The Lunar Chronicles soon! My TTT
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, you must! š
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great list! I especially love seeing The Book Thief on here!
Here are some of the books I’ve read outside the US: http://www.anovelglimpse.com/2016/07/19/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-set-outside-the-u-s/
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Book Thief is great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Harry Potter, The Book Thief and one of the Heroes of Olympus books on my list too!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/19/top-ten-tuesday-66/
LikeLiked by 1 person
All three are great. š
LikeLiked by 1 person
As much as I love the USA, I do love it when I come across a book that doesn’t revolve around the states. I love dystopian and it has been refreshing of late to read one that was set in Spain and another in India.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh one in India? That is great. I also dislike just how dystopian set in USA hardly ever tell us what happened to the rest of the world.
LikeLike
Harry Potter made my list too š Is The Infernal Devices good? I’m pretty sure I have the first book around somewhere but for some reason I never get around to picking up books I already own.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed The Infernal Devices a lot more than I did The Mortal Instruments. The plot and characters are just a lot better in my opinion and the books aren’t drawn out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I tried the first Mortal Instruments but for some reason I didn’t carry on with it (so long ago I can’t remember why), so might give this series a try instead.
LikeLiked by 1 person